Sen. Ron Johnson, during a Sunday NewsNation interview, raised questions about President Donald Trump’s tariff strategy, arguing that he wanted to know the commander in chief’s “endgame.”
“One thing I learned in the private sector is unpredictability can work pretty well in the negotiation, but businesses want certainty,” the Wisconsin Republican said on the “The Hill Sunday” program.
“They want stability. They don’t like to see volatility,” he continued. “I’ve just been questioning exactly what’s the endgame here? What’s the strategy?”
Johnson, a conservative three-term lawmaker, is a reliable ally of Trump. His remarks come just days after Trump temporarily paused higher “reciprocal” tariffs for select countries.
For now, Trump’s 10% baseline tariff rate remains in place for most countries. Meanwhile, the US continues to engage in an escalating trade war with China.
Trump announced late Friday he would relieve many tech products from the China tariffs, only to then say on Sunday that separate tariffs on tech products would be coming in the future.
Trump’s rapid tariff rate changes have led to volatility in the stock and bond markets, and a range of economists have expressed concern about the administration’s trade strategy.
Johnson sits on both the Senate Budget and Finance committees. He also serves as a member of the subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness.
During Johnson’s interview on Sunday, he described himself as an “unabashed free trader.”
“From my standpoint, I think trade is good,” he said. “You obtain goods from people that have a comparative advantage of producing those particular goods, and you sell them things where we have the comparative advantage.”
However, Johnson also said tariffs can sometimes be useful.
“I can understand that there could be some good uses for tariffs,” he said. “President Trump has proven that, for example, when he threatened Mexico with tariffs if they wouldn’t cooperate with ‘Remain in Mexico.’ That helped secure the border.”
“So there’s certainly a use for it, but tariffs are a double-edged sword and a pretty blunt instrument,” he added.
Johnson said he doesn’t want to use tariffs to boost federal revenue.
“You raise revenue by growing your economy, having a simplified and rational tax system that incentivizes economic growth — not just slapping on higher tax rates or engaging in a massive trade war that obviously has disrupted and scared the markets,” he said.
